He left teaching, for health reasons, to work in the outdoors, and began writing his Bypaths of History syndicated column for western United States newspapers in the 1930s.

The location on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Columbia River provided considerable opportunity for salvage from wrecked timber-carrying ships.

[3] The house's tongue-and-groove lumber was thrown overboard from the steamer Washington the same winter as it narrowly avoided being wrecked inside the Columbia's mouth.

Window and door openings were sawn out of the solid log structure, with wood surrounds embellished with fishing net floats.

[1] The driftwood zoo gradually disappeared over the years, as did several outbuildings, including a garage that Allison called "The Wreckagette.